Month: November 2007

Posted in Events, San Francisco, Shopping

Super Sales for Fashionistas

Posted on by virgoinwonderland

See, this is another reason why the Holidays are my favorite time of year. SALES! I don’t care if I sound shallow and materialistic. It’s fun, it’s a hobby, and it’s only this good once a year!

Also check my Sales and Coupons page for daily updated coupon codes, promotions, and sales.

LIZ PALACIOS | Annual Sample Sale | December 6th thru 8th, 10am-4pm | 1251 Howard, S.F.

Her Sample Sales are legendary and happen only once a year. If you’ve ever shopped in the accessories section of Nordstrom, you’ve seen her jewelry. Fabulous handmade pieces made with Swarovski crystals that are perfect for the holidays. They make great gifts that people will love you for! Prices will be close to wholesale, which means you’ll save big. Go to www.lizpalacios.com for a sample of their collections.

CARROT & STICK PRESS | Second Annual Private Studio Sale | Saturday, December 8th, 10am-4pm| 6050 Lowell St., Studio 102, Oakland

This line of fun, sophisticated stationery and paper products have been featured in women’s and bridal magazines like InStyle, Lucky, Martha Stewart, and many more. Their products have whimsical designs in bright colors and are made by antique printing press! You’ll save 50% on discontinued and overstock merchandise at this yearly sale. Go to www.carrotandstickpress.com for a catalog of their entire line of products.

Burberry Private Sale | Select merchandise on sale through this link only + Free shipping with $195 purchase or more online | Expiration unknown | http://www.burberryusaonline.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2284855

Stila Cosmetics | Their first Virtual Warehouse Sale with items up to 70% off, coming soon! | Sign up at this link to get special access to the sale when it starts: http://www.stilacosmetics.com/special_vws_signup_2007.asp

H&M Friends and Family Coupon | 25% off your entire purchase | Valid December 7th-9th, ONLY | Please use this link to access the coupon: http://www.hmfriendsandfamily.com/

Bath and Body Works | $10 off your purchase of $30 or more, online or in-store | Valid only until December 3rd | Please use this link to access the coupon: http://f.e.bathandbodyworks.com/i/34/528207786/110507A_coup.html

Posted in Events, Food

Italian in Mountain View

Posted on by virgoinwonderland

rist.jpg Courtesy of www.dongiovannis.com

If you’re ever in downtown Mountain View, specifically Castro St., you’ll never have any trouble finding a good Asian restaurant. There’s a wide selection of Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese joints all up and down the street.

Unfortunately, my friend and I weren’t in the mood for Asian food. And our options didn’t look good, until we saw Ristorante Don Giovanni.

I was a little afraid upon entering the place because of it’s stereotypical Italian bistro decor of peach colored walls, dime a dozen Italian posters and the pungent smell of garlic. The place needs a facelift to make it more modern and give it some distinction.

Upon opening the menu, I noticed an abundance of typical Italian favorites you’d expect to see like pastas and scallopinis. Nothing terribly innovative or exciting, but there were a lot of choices.

If you love veal, you’ll love this place. There is a ton of veal on this menu and not as much in the way of chicken or beef. I decided on the Veal Scallopini with Marsala and Mushrooms. I LOVE marsala dishes, so I was hoping for the best.

But first, my friend and I shared the crab cake appetizer. There are so many ways to screw this dish up, but fortunately, it exceeded my expectations. The crab meat was flavorful, fresh tasting, moist, and the breading was light and crispy. A solid dish.

My friend ordered the ravioli stuffed with ricotta in meat sauce. She loved it and practically licked the place clean. And my veal marsala was surprisingly good. The veal was pounded thin and was moist and tender. The mushrooms and marsala sauce were sweet and tangy, just like it should be. It was simple, but delicious.

At one point we both stopped ourselves in mid meal realizing how fast we were eating! We enjoyed the food thoroughly, and the service was friendly and attentive. The menu and decor could stand a little more imagination, but the simple food was hearty, yet not heavy, and solidly good.

If none of the Asian restaurants on Castro are calling your name, you could do a lot worse than this place.

Ristorante Don Giovanni – 235 Castro St., Mountain View – 650.961.9749

SPECIAL OFFER: On Thanksgiving, November 22nd, 2007, Ristorante Don Giovanni will be serving their annual FREE Thanksgiving meal, as a thank you to all their loyal customers! Just show up between 11am-4pm to get a free turkey meal! Not valid on takeout orders, while supplies last. Please call the restaurant for more details.

Posted in Shopping, Travel

The Asian answer to Sephora

Posted on by virgoinwonderland

What girl doesn’t love Sephora?  It’s like a mega-mart of cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance, without the annoying department store salesperson.  Hell, even my husband loves trying their stuff for men!

But if any of you have spent some time in Asia, you’ll know they have their own version of Sephora.  It’s called “Sasa,” and it’s where all women go for their beauty products.  If you visit any major metropolitan city in Asia you’ll find one, and it’s worth a trip.

But because of the internet, you don’t have to go to Asia to visit Sasa.  Their website will suffice nicely.

So why should you care?  First, they totally ship to the States and the shipping rates are very normal.  Second, there’s a wide array of products that you can’t get in this country (or at least are harder to find).  Shisedo has additional product lines on the site, and Kanebo has products you can find in the U.S.

But here’s the biggest reason…  Some of the products they carry that CAN be found in the States, are cheaper at Sasa.com!  It could be because they’re either made in Asia or more popular there than they are here.  Some brands are discounted anywhere from 20% to 30% on a regular basis, like Bourjois and Dior Addict cosmetic lines, and even some SK-II items!  These are brands that would never go on sale in America, but are always cheaper at Sasa.com.  They even offer free shipping on all U.S. orders if you purchase $75 or more.

What…a…deal!